Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (L) talked with Ma Yun, the founder of Alibaba, a world's leading B2B e-commerce company at the APEC CEO summit on Friday. [Xinhua photo]

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for social responsibility and attention to the poor amid the ongoing global financial meltdown.

The crisis emerged as some companies sacrificed their social responsibility for profits, Yudhoyono said.

The lesson that the international community should learn from the crisis, the gravest since the Great Depression, is that "good governance and responsibility matter," he said in a speech during the APEC CEO summit.

He urged increased spending on social welfare, on health and education in particular, during the hard times.

The crisis could become an "opportunity" to make globalization beneficial to the poor if leaders "make the right choice," he said.

Some 1,200 participants were expected to attend the two-day CEO summit, part of the APEC Leaders' Week on Nov. 16-23. The theme of the CEO summit this year is "Growth, Equity and Sustainable Development: Challenge for APEC."

A total of 19 leaders are scheduled to attend the annual APEC summit scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Established in 1989, APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2008)